JP2003121912A - Thin imaging unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thin imaging unit of which the main body thickness in non-photographing can be made thin without being affected by a maximum extent of movement of an imaging device. SOLUTION: The imaging unit is provided with the imaging device for converting an optical image formed by an optical system provided with a collapsible barrel mechanism to an electric signal and a processing means for processing the electric signal. In this imaging unit, the imaging device 23 is attached to a device main body via a collapsible barrel part C, which supports the imaging device 23 while allowing the imaging device 23 to freely project and retreat between a photographing state position where it is fed out to the rear side of the device main body and a non-photographing state position where it is made flat at power-off or storage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image pickup apparatus such as a digital camera having an image pickup device for converting light incident from an optical system into an electric signal and an optical system for converging the light, and particularly to an image pickup apparatus main body. The present invention relates to a thin imaging device capable of being thinned.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a card type camera disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-282073 is known as a thin image pickup device. This card-type camera has a lens collapsible mechanism that allows the lens to be at the same position as the front surface of the camera body or to be immersed in the camera body when not shooting, and to project the lens from the front surface of the camera body to shoot the focal length with respect to the image sensor. Have secured.

However, since only the lens is retracted in this card type camera, it is possible to reduce the thickness in the case of a fixed focus lens, but an optical system such as a zoom lens having a long overall lens length and a flange back. In the case of an optical system having a long focus, it is difficult to reduce the thickness.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, there is conventionally known a thin digital camera including a zoom lens. In this digital camera, the taking lens 1 which is a zoom lens can be retracted, and the CCD 23 which is an image pickup device can be moved to secure a necessary flange back focus at the time of shooting. That is, the moving amount of the first group of the photographing lens 1 is such that the lens barrel 2 has a retractable structure, so that the retractable portion of the photographing lens on the front side of the camera has a thickness T of the main body (see FIG. 10). Not included in.

[0005]

However, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the rear side of this conventional digital camera requires the main body depending on the maximum movement amount of the image pickup device 23 and the amount of the clearance secured at that time. Since the thickness T of the main body is determined, the thickness T of the main body also includes the maximum amount of movement of the image pickup device 23, and there is a limit in reducing the thickness T of the main body.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thin image pickup device which is not affected by the maximum movement amount of an image pickup element and which can make the thickness of the main body in a non-photographing state thinner than before. To do.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is an image pickup device for converting an optical image into an electric signal by an optical system having a collapsing mechanism, and a process for processing the electric signal. In the image pickup device including means, the image pickup device is configured such that the image pickup device is provided between the image pickup state position which is extended to the rear side with respect to the apparatus main body and the non-image pickup state position which is flat when the power is turned off or stored. The thin imaging device is characterized in that the thin imaging device is attached to the device main body through a retractable mechanism that is supported so as to be retractable.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the collapsing mechanism is provided with a moving means capable of moving the image pickup device between an image forming position of the optical system and a position on the object side of the image forming position. The thin image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein

The invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the collapsing mechanism is provided with a helicoid screw.
Alternatively, it is the thin imaging device according to claim 2.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the thin image pickup device according to the first or second aspect, the collapsing mechanism includes a cylindrical cam and a pin guided by the cylindrical cam. is there.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the thin image pickup device according to the first aspect, wherein the optical system is a variable focus optical system.

The invention according to claim 6 is the thin image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the optical system is a single-focus optical system.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion showing a stored state of a digital camera according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a lens barrel showing a state where a zoom position of the digital camera is at a long focal end. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the CCD collapsing portion, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the lens barrel and the CCD collapsing portion showing a state in which the zoom position of the digital camera is at the short focus end.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the taking lens 1 includes a first lens group 10, a second lens group 11, and a third lens group 1.
It is composed of 3 groups of 2 and these lens groups are the lens barrel 2
Is held by. The first group lens 10 is the first group frame 1
3, the second group lens 11 is mounted on the second group frame 14, and the third group lens 12 is mounted on the third group frame 15.

The outer diameters of the first group frame 13 and the second group frame 14 have a cage structure so as to be coaxial with the inner diameter of the fixed frame 16. A rotating cam 17 is arranged on the outer diameter of the fixed frame 16.
The fixed frame 16 is provided with three rectilinear grooves 16a of the first group frame 13 and three rectilinear grooves 16b of the second group frame 14 in the circumferential direction. Further, the rotary cam 17 is provided with a first group cam 17a for the first group frame 13 and a second group cam 17b for the second group frame 14 at three locations in the circumferential direction.

The first group frame 13 is a rectilinear groove 16a of the fixed frame 16.
The first group pin 18 passing through the first group cam 17a of the rotary cam 17 is held by being fixed by the first group screw 19. Similarly, the second group frame 14 has a straight groove 16 b of the fixed frame 16.
It is held by fixing the second group pin 20 passing through the second group cam 17b of the rotary cam 17 with the second group screw 21.

As a result, when the rotary cam 17 is rotated, the first group frame 13 and the second group frame 14 are restricted by the rectilinear groove 16a of the fixed frame 16 and the first group cam 17a of the rotary cam 17. Each of them moves a predetermined amount in the optical axis direction without rotating. The rotating cam 17 has a gear 17
c is provided and is interlocked with a gear train connected from a zoom motor 56 of FIG. 9 described later. As a result, when the zoom motor 56 is rotated, the first group frame 13 and the second group frame 14 are each moved by a predetermined amount.

First group frame 13, second group frame 14, rotary cam 1
The fixed frame 16 to which 7 is attached is attached to the shutter base plate 22. In this embodiment, the third group lens 12 is fixed regardless of the zoom position, and the third group frame 15 is also attached to the shutter base plate 22. A barrier cover 44 including a barrier mechanism (not shown) is attached to the first group frame 13. The barrier cover 44 is housed on the same surface as the front cover 45.

Next, the structure of focus drive will be described. In this embodiment, the CCD 23 is moved and focused. The CCD 23 is a filter 24 in which an optical low-pass filter and an IR cut filter are attached, and a pressure-bonding rubber 25.
It is put in the CCD frame 26 together with the pressing plate 27 and the CCD
It is fixed to the frame 26 to form a unit structure.
The movement in the optical axis direction is performed by the focus cam 28. The focus cam 28 is rotatably held by the shutter base plate 22, and the helicoid surface 28a of the focus cam 28 and the helicoid surface 26a of the CCD frame 26 are fitted to each other. Further, the focus cam 28 is provided with a gear 28b, which is interlocked with a gear train connected from the focus motor 58 in FIG.
Further, the CCD frame 26 cannot be rotated by a rotation stopper (not shown). As a result, when the focus motor 58 is rotated, the CCD frame 26 moves by a predetermined amount. The CCD frame 26 is provided with a CCD frame lid 30, which is an external appearance. The CCD frame cover 30 is flush with the rear cover 31 in the housed state. In this way CCD
The retractable portion C is configured.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a modified example of the CCD collapsible portion, showing a stored state. As shown in FIG. 4, in the CCD collapsible portion C, instead of moving the CCD 23 by fitting the helicoid surface 28a of the focus cam 28 and the helicoid surface 26a of the CCD frame 26, the CCD 23 is moved to the focus cam 28 which is a cylindrical cam. A pin 26b fixed to the CCD frame 26 is engaged. As a result, by rotating the focus cam 28 as in the embodiment of FIG.
The pin 26b is regulated by the cam groove of the focus cam 28 and the rectilinear groove 22a of the shutter base plate 22, so that the CCD frame 26 moves by a predetermined amount in the optical axis direction as in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the position in the optical axis direction and the zoom position regarding each group of the optical system and the CCD of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the first group (the first group lens 10 of the taking lens 1), the second group (the second group lens 11 of the taking lens 1), and the CCD
The (imaging device 23) is movable with respect to the camera body, and only the third group is fixed with respect to the camera body regardless of the zoom position.

Considering the stored state of FIG. 1 as a reference, it is necessary to extend the first group and the second group to the front in order to achieve the short focus end (WIDE) state of FIG. Further, in order to focus on a finite distance, it is necessary to extend the CCD to the rear side. Next, in order to achieve the long focus end (TELE) state, it is necessary to further extend the first group to the front side, move the second group to the rear side, and also move the CCD to the rear side.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the required thickness of the body of the conventional digital camera, FIG. 10 is a sectional view showing the lens barrel and the CCD collapsible portion of the conventional digital camera in the stored state, and FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of a conventional digital camera in a short focus end state.

With reference to FIG. 12, the required thickness of the main body of the conventional digital camera when the same optical system as that of the embodiment of the present invention is used will be described. As shown in FIG.
The amount of movement of the first group of the photographing lens included in the conventional digital camera is not included in the required thickness of the main body as shown in FIG. 10 due to the retractable structure of the lens barrel. As shown in FIG. 11, the required thickness T of the main body depends on the maximum movement amount of the CCD and the amount that secures the clearance at that time.
Is determined.

Next, FIG. 6 illustrates a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention when this optical system is used. As shown in FIG. 6, the amount of movement of the first group does not include the collapsed portion in the thickness of the main body as in the conventional case. However, on the rear side, it can be seen that the required thickness of the main body is reduced by forming the CCD in the collapsible structure as described above.

FIG. 7 shows the above-described lens barrel 2 and CCD collapsing portion C.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention that includes As shown in FIG. 7, this digital camera includes a taking lens 1 for taking an image and a lens barrel 2 for holding the taking lens 1 and moving it to a predetermined position. Further, this digital camera is provided with an objective lens 3 of an optical finder for determining a composition and a strobe 4 used at a low brightness.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the digital camera shown in FIG. On the back side of this digital camera, a power switch 5 for starting and stopping the digital camera, a zoom button 6 for zooming operation, an eyepiece 7 of an optical viewfinder,
A liquid crystal display 8 is provided for displaying a message such as composition determination, image reproduction display, and mode. Further, on the back side of this digital camera, a mode selection button 9 for switching each mode and an operation button B for operating a mode that cannot be selected by the mode selection button 9 are provided. On the back side of such a digital camera, a CCD retracting portion C for retracting the above-mentioned image pickup device 23 is provided.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the circuit configuration of the digital camera. With the mode selection switch 51 linked to the mode selection button 9 and the operation selection switch 52 linked to the operation button B, a shooting mode, a playback mode, a deletion mode, a macro shooting mode, a monochrome shooting mode, a split playback mode, a zoom The selected contents of the reproduction mode, the batch erase mode, the one frame erase mode, etc. are used as a signal by the control unit 54.
Sent to the set state of each mode state.

The case where the photographing mode is selected will be described. In the shooting mode, the zoom operation becomes possible, and the zoom position selected by the zoom button 6 is sent to the control unit 54 as a zoom position signal from the zoom selection switch 53 linked with the zoom button 6. It is possible to rotate the focus driving focus motor 58 and the zoom driving zoom motor 56 by sending a predetermined amount of signal from the control unit 54 to the motor driver 55 to move the lens to the selected zoom position. Becomes Focus motor 5
8, the zoom motor 56 is the focus drive unit 5, respectively.
9. The photographic optical system 60 is linked with the zoom drive unit 57.
The photographing lens and the image pickup device 23 are moved and set at the selected zoom position.

The light passing through the photographing optical system 60 is cut by an infrared cut filter, an OLPF (optical low-pass filter) 61, and the high-frequency component that is a source of pseudo color and moire is cut off. Reach 23. The light reaching the image sensor 23 is converted into an electric signal by the image sensor 23. Converted electrical signals are CDS, AGC, A / D
Sent to 63. CDS removes low frequency noise,
In the AGC, only the video signal is amplified to a specified level, and then A / D converted in A / D and output as a digital signal. The output digital signal is sent to the image processing unit 64, where it performs color information interpolation processing, white balance gain processing, contour enhancement processing, γ processing, conversion processing for separating a luminance signal and two color difference signals, and the like. Sent to 69.
In order to record on the recording medium 68, the signal data stored in the memory 69 is sent to the image processing unit 64 again, subjected to compression processing, and then written on the recording medium 68. When displaying a through image for determining the composition, the image sensor 23
Output only the signals thinned out from the
After passing through C and A / D 63, the image processing unit 64 performs the same processing, and further performs thinning processing. Then the memory 69
After being temporarily stored in, the image is sent to the image processing unit 64 to be subjected to video conversion processing and output to the video amplifier 65. If you connect a TV (TV monitor) 66, TV (TV monitor)
A through image can be output to 66. Similarly LC
In order to display on the D (liquid crystal monitor) 27, the video conversion processing in the image processing unit 64 is converted for the liquid crystal monitor display, and output and displayed on the LCD (liquid crystal monitor) 67.

According to the digital camera of the above embodiment,
In an image pickup device such as a digital camera provided with an image pickup device for converting light incident from an optical system into an electric signal and a processing means for processing the electric signal, a part of the front and back of the body is automatically extended at the time of shooting, A shooting state can be achieved without impairing the functions of zooming and focusing, and a flat body shape can be obtained when the power is turned off or when the camera is stored.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the case of a digital camera was described as an example of a thin image pickup device, but the present invention can be applied to a personal digital assistant equipped with an image pickup device. In the above embodiment, the case where the zoom lens is used as the variable focus optical system has been described, but a single focus optical system may be used instead of the variable focus optical system. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the CCD is used as the image pickup element has been described, but the CMOS is used instead of the CCD.
A sensor or the like may be used. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0033]

As is apparent from the above description, claims 1 to
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to make the body shape thin and flat when carrying, such as when the power is off or when storing, without impairing the zooming and focusing functions during shooting.

Further, by using the helicoid screw, it is possible to realize a thin image pickup apparatus having a retracting mechanism of the image pickup element which secures the strength and does not increase the number of members such as pins.

Further, by using the cylindrical cam and the pin, it is possible to realize a thin image pickup device which secures the strength and is provided with an inexpensive collapsing mechanism of the image pickup element.

Further, by making the photographing optical system a variable focus, it is possible to obtain a multifunctional thin image pickup device.

Further, by making the photographing optical system a single focal point, the optical system can be made compact, and the body shape can be made thinner and flatter.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of a digital camera according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a stored state.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of the digital camera, showing a state in which a zoom position is at a long focal end.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of the digital camera, showing a state in which a zoom position is at a short focal end.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the CCD collapsible portion of the digital camera, showing a stored state.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an optical axis direction position and a zoom position regarding each group of the optical system and the CCD of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a required thickness of the main body of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the digital camera according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a rear view of the digital camera.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the digital camera.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of a conventional digital camera in a housed state.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a lens barrel and a CCD collapsible portion of a conventional digital camera in a short focus end state.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a required thickness of a main body of a conventional digital camera.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Shooting lens 23 CCD (imaging device) 26a Helicoid surface 28a Helicoid surface 64 Image processing unit C CCD retractor

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image pickup apparatus comprising: an image pickup device for converting an optical image by an optical system having a collapsible mechanism into an electric signal; and a processing means for processing the electric signal. Is attached to the apparatus main body through a collapsible mechanism that supports the image pickup element so that the image pickup element can be retracted and retracted between a shooting state position that is extended to the back side and a non-shooting state position that is flat when the power is off or stored. A thin image pickup device characterized by the above. 2. The retracting mechanism comprises a moving means capable of moving the image pickup device between an image forming position of the optical system and a position on the object side of the image forming position. 1. The thin imaging device according to 1. 3. The thin imaging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the collapsing mechanism includes a helicoid screw. 4. The thin image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the collapsing mechanism includes a cylindrical cam and a pin guided by the cylindrical cam. 5. The thin imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the optical system is a variable focus optical system. 6. The thin image pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the optical system is a single-focus optical system.